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The footballer who forced his government to feed hungry children.
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Fight for your black friends. Defend your black colleagues.
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And the young student who got her community active
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and fighting for their rights.
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We'll show you what qualities these young leaders showed
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in fighting for something they believe in.
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Marcus Rashford – in action for Manchester United.
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Not the obvious person you'd expect to help fight hunger and poverty.
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The Covid pandemic: children in the UK were sent home from school
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and many poorer children no longer got free school meals.
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Marcus wanted to help get food to those that needed the most.
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He wrote a letter to the government, calling on them to end child poverty.
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Unlike many in the British government,
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Marcus had come from a poor background.
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You know, what families are going through now –
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I once had to go through that same system
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and it's very difficult to... to find the way out, but...
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now that I'm in this position that I'm in,
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it's... it's very important for me to...
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to help the people that are struggling and...
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that was the main reason why the letter was... was written.
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Public support for the footballer grew.
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He became a leading voice in the campaign to end child food poverty.
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He got the British government to carry on giving free food
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to those that needed it,
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with the support of thousands of people.
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How did he do it?
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The personal connection that Marcus Rashford
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has to the cause is very important,
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because of his strong belief
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and conviction that child poverty is not something
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that should be allowed in society,
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and because he has experienced it,
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he knows that this is a cause that can...
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is as important and even bigger than football.
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So, Marcus Rashford's personal connection
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to the cause is important here.
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And we can see how that motivates him.
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Although there is so much you can get from being a footballer,
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there is a bigger cause in society – in this case child poverty –
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that is bigger than football and he sees that as a vision
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and feels that he has a position in power
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to be able to influence that.
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So, Marcus Rashford sees the bigger picture.
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He knows there are many children experiencing hunger like he did
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and this drives his leadership.
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Marcus Rashford feels he's got a role to play in fighting child poverty,
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because he's in a... a position as a professional footballer,
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and he has the vision and the honesty and simple way,
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in which he communicates and drives that vision,
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pulls people around him
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and creates a team spirit within the community,
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such that even politicians are challenged to try to do more.
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Marcus Rashford knows he has a role to play.
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His passion and commitment draws people to the cause
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and his message cannot be ignored,
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even by the politicians.
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He's able to stay the course,
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irrespective of what people might say or want him to do.
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He knows that he has to stay the course
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to be able to achieve his vision,
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because that is what he has been doing most of his life.
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So, resilience and persistence are important character traits here,
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and enable you to stand firm in the face of criticism.
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But what if you aren't a high-profile footballer?
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The killing of George Floyd, a black man,
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at the hands of a white police officer
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was caught on video and led to massive protests
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around the world.
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Boni Adeliyi, a student from the UK,
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decided to join the growing movement
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Fight for your black friends! Defend your black colleagues!
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Boni organised a protest in her home town
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She set it up in just two days.
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So, what were Boni's experiences of leadership?
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I didn't watch the video,
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but I felt the, like...
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I felt the effects of that...
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Sorry.
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I felt the effects of that immediately,
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because just hearing about it is enough
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to shake somebody, I think.
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Boni Adeliyi, as a black woman, had been personally affected
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by the killing and wanted to respond.
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I tried to make sure that this protest
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is not linked to any political party,
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any local agenda – nothing.
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This is about black people having a space to grieve
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and if you are a self-proclaimed ally and you want to support,
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then you have a space to come and support.
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Boni knew others felt the same way as her
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and wanted to give them an opportunity to come together.
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She also knew she was putting herself at risk.
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As somebody in charge, you take full accountability
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for everything that happens,
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and knowing that,
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you have to be ready for things to go wrong:
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things to not go your way,
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for people to hurl abuse at you,
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like... I think, knowing that
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before you decide to take something on is really, really important,
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because self-awareness should let you know
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whether or not you can... you can hold that.
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Boni took a risk
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and accepted personal responsibility for the event,
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knowing it might not go well.
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This makes her a believable leader.
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She also thinks it's important
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to not forget the issue you are fighting for.
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Honour the people that you've come to serve,
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because I think it's about leading and taking charge, sure –
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but it's also about serving.
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You're there to... I organised a protest, but it...
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it was... it was to serve... it was to serve my community.
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I... I don't know how else to phrase that.
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But, when... when you lead, you also serve.
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And that's... there's lot of humility that comes with that, I think.
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I was, like I said, very humbled –
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by the end of that protest,
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humbled to my absolute... to the absolute extreme.
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Boni says she was humbled.
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She didn't see herself as bigger than the cause.
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People are more likely to follow her because of this.
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So, to lead for a cause, you need to show your connection to the cause.
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You might need to take a real risk.
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And you should remember – you're not bigger than the cause itself:
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be humble.